Honest Xbox Reviews

As gamers, we are currently experiencing a period of time where we're being spoilt for choice when it comes to what shooty bang bang game deserves both our time and money. Gears, Battlefield, Titanfall 2 this week, then COD in November (this only just got into this list after a lacklustre beta), I don't think we've seen a period of time before where we've had such a bumper packed few weeks of gun related shenanigans.

I went into to playing Battlefield 1 last week while typing up the Mafia III review for the site, which saw me returning back this week with some worry, after the quick dip into the campaign just to check it out left me feeling like maybe BF1 wasn't going to be for me this year. I consider myself half decent with a digital gun in most shooters, but found death was a major issue for me even when facing the AI offline enemies when taking a look at the campaign, so I feared that the sharks online (read snipers hiding behind rocks) were bound to smell blo…

How I miss having spare time when I could update the blog with numerous news posts when the news was announced. Here I am a day late giving you gaming news you've no doubt heard already. But for those living under a rock, here it goes.

Microsoft revealed the next four games coming to the Games With Gold promotion this November, with the service once again having another a pretty decent offering for those with an Xbox Live gold  subscription.

November 1st sees Super Dungeon Bros coming to the Xbox One, and Monkey Island: Special Edition coming to the Xbox 360, with this also available on the Xbox One thanks to it being backwards compatible.

All change once again on Nov 16th, with the Xbox One getting Murdered: Soul Suspect (will repost my old review of this from my old place of writing at some point and link it here), and Xbox 360 owners (plus XB1 via BC once again) will be getting Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon.

If you follow me on social media or have seen some of the posts on this site leading up to the release of this game, you will know that I was dying to get my hands on this the closer the release got. Being a massive fan of Mafia II (Massive meaning I remember having a good time when playing it back then), I was hoping for more of the same with some present day graphics for Mafia III. Leading up to this release we saw many media outlets not getting any review copies for launch day reviews, with my copy not turning up in the post until Oct 13th. Hearing horror stories about the game up until then, I was worried that Mafia III would be the big letdown for me this year.

You play Mafia III as former Vietnam Veteran, Lincoln Clay,  with the game set in the city of New Bordeaux (a reimagined version of New Orleans) in 1968. With Lincoln coming back to become a part of the black mob, he soon finds himself on the wrong side of some right wrong uns, with him being left for dead and the people …

No words needed, the game is set for release late 2017.

Over the last few days, I've found myself watching a load of videos on Mantis Burn Racing while playing it myself. Many of these videos were saying the same thing when watching them, that being that the game was decent and was well worth taking a look at. I also had my own initial thoughts on it too after playing the game for and hour or two, with the video for that found here. Not finding myself as excited about the game as these great people whose content I enjoy made me wonder if maybe I had just burnt myself out playing all the big games that we've seen recently. It could also have been that Mantis Burn Racing was just alright, and it wasn't this amazing racer that these people were making it out to be.

Mantis Burn Racing for those who don't know is a top-down racer that plays a little like games such as Micro Machines (I said a little like mind you). Mantis Burn Racing offers a career mode which promises 20+ hours of play, local play for those who enjoy racing pe…

I was one of those people that when seeing this I instantly fell in love with it. Sonic played a massive role in the gamer I have become today, so in my old age, I have a soft spot for the little bugger. While this edition comes in at a whopping £79.99 for us in the UK, I've found myself hitting that pre-order button and start saving up before its release next April. You can find the Amazon UK link for the Xbox One version by clicking here, or the PS4 version by clicking here.


This edition includes:
Deluxe "SEGA Mega Drive" style Collector's Box 12" Classic Sonic Statue featuring SEGA Mega Drive Base Power switch which lets out the sound of the "SEGA" startup audio! Metallic Collector's Card plus Sonic Mania Download Code (digital game code) SEGA Cartridge Cast with Golden Ring

How we still have people who bash the value for money that EA Access has to offer is beyond me, as to me, it's still one of the best subscription services on the market today. Still, we hear from people who will not go anywhere near it for some strange reason, even though those picking up a new console this Christmas could find themselves having a load of games to play for just £3.99 a month or £19.99 for the whole year.

EA recently announced the next few games that will be coming to the already packed vault before the end of the year, with some huge releases being added between now and the end of December. The service also offers 10-hour trials on all new releases, with members currently enjoying Battlefield 1 before it's released to the masses.

By the time the end of the year comes we will see games such as UFC 2, Mirror's Edge Catalyst, and Star Wars Battlefront, joining the likes of Unravel, Plants vs. Zombies Garden Warfare 2, and Battlefield Hardline. Do yourself a …

The 16th of the month means change for those with Xbox Live, as two new games are now available to download thanks to the Games With Gold promotion. Xbox One owners can download the fun looking The Escapist by clicking here or going to the Games With Gold section on their console.

Xbox 360 owners (and those who want to play it on the Xbox One thanks to the game also being backwards compatible) can now download I Am Alive by clicking here and adding it to their download queue. Not played either of these games myself, so for the first time in ages I find myself looking forward to playing both choices. Have you downloaded them both? Let me know what you think of them in the comments below or over on Twitter @HXboxReviews.

Gears Of War and I go way back in my gaming history, with Gears being the first Xbox 360 shooter that I found myself investing a stupid amount of time in when it comes to the multiplayer. I'm not alone here either, as Gears now has a massive fanbase. All of whom love it for their own reasons, be that the characters, the multiplayer, or the story that goes on between the game, books, and soon to be movie that was announced at a launch event for the game recently. While Halo was the series that brought many to pick up an Xbox console, I think Gears Of War was the one that sold a bunch of 360 consoles, with word of mouth soon spreading that not only was this game gorgeous to look at, but Epic had brought something a little different to the genre that we were all getting a little bored with now.

I tried my best to ignore any sort of trailers and things going into the launch of GOW 4, as if the past has taught me anything it's that hype can kill a game almost instantly. We've a…

Thanks to the Russ over at Xbox Gamer Reviews doing a preview video for this that I happened to catch one evening, it tickled me enough to reach out to the guys handling reviews to say, hey, I want to type some words on this Manual Samuel too. What with the period we are now in with video games seemingly having a massive hit coming out every week, it's going to be easy to overlook this when it releases on October 14th for those of us on an Xbox One (PS4 Players get it Oct 11th).

So what is Manual Samuel?  Well picture the gaming equivalent of you tapping your head while rubbing your belly, as Manual Samuel sees you take control of a man named Samuel (you don't say), who after an accident with a sewage truck and a deal with the Grim Reaper sees him losing control of all things we take for granted on a daily basis. Over your time with the game you will have full control of Samuel's body, that means breathing, blinking, putting his spine back in the right place, and most imp…

With the Ultimate Edition releasing at midnight last night (standard version releasing this Tuesday), I thought why not take a look at some of the campaign for those that are having to wait. A review will be up on the site next week, with the video below taking a look at act 2: level 2. Spoilers are of course a reason not to watch, but if you want to see how the game looks, then get clicking that play button. Be sure to subscribe to the YouTube channel while you are there, as sitting at just 53 subs is breaking my heart.

The game that every gamer outside of its core fanbase hates with a passion for its yearly release has arrived, with FIFA 17 available now for the millions of fans who will happily pay for the same game every year. I'm not bashing the game, oh no. I'm one of those guys who adore the game to pieces, with me spending an obscene amount of time on the online side of these games since clubs and Ultimate Team joined the series. I once found myself actually buying FIFA points with real money too, but once that year passed I thankfully learned that spending money on digital player cards was not a good thing to be doing when you have two kids to feed.

I was lucky enough to be playing the ten hour trial of this via EA Access before the review copy even dropped through the door this week, with me watching the countdown clock, trying my best to make it last until the game released. We of course also had the demo earlier in the month, with modes like The Journey coming out of it better tha…

This is one of those games that had my attention when it was first announced not so long ago, with it looking rather decent in the trailers showing it off. Mantis Burn Racing not only promises a 20-hour single-player campaign but also a decent sized online setting too, where upto eight players can battle it out on the track. The game is coming to consoles on October 12th, with the Voofoo Studios Twitter account saying it will be priced in the region of £12.99 / €15.99 / $14.99. You can look forward to my thoughts and some gameplay once a review code drops in my email.

Hadn't heard about this game until yesterday if truth be told, but the second I laid eyes on it, I was interested. To say it looks very similar to another recent shooter that did very well would be a massive understatement, but a healthy bit of competition is always a good thing in the gaming world. You can sign up for this future free-to-play game by clicking here (Because I know a few PS4 guys you can find your link here). Cross your fingers and good luck on getting in.

It's October 1st, and that means new games to download for Xbox Live Gold members on both platforms thanks to Games With Gold. The Xbox One has Super Mega Baseball: Extra Innings, with 360 players (and those on Xbox One able to play via BC) getting MX vs ATV Reflex.

I'm looking forward to seeing what both games have to offer once I have the time to try them. What about you? Happy with the first two games, or are you waiting for The Escapist and I Am Alive to take over later this month? Click on the games above to be taken to the Xbox Store link to add them to your download queue.